Water ski



Feb. 14, 1961 F. E. ElcHoLTz WATER SKI Filed June 2, 1958 United StatesPatent WATER SKI Frank E. Eicholtz, San Diego, Calif., assgnor to GeorgeJ. Leach, San Diego, Calif.

Filed June 2, 1958, Ser. No. 739,143

2 Claims. (Cl. 9-310) This invention relates to an improved water ski.

In the conventional water ski the thickness is limited by the weight ofthe ski and there is a tendency of the ski to bow at the point ofapplication of weight of the user, creating a highly undesirable drag.

It is an object of this invention to provide a ski wherein the bottom ofthe center section is always a iiat plane eliminating center drag.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a ski wherein thesections in front of or to the rear of the central section are flexibleto prevent drag on particularly sharp turns.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a ski having thedesired flexibility at the desired places which is not subject tofatigue and hence returns to its original position.

Other objects and advantages will be readily apparent from the followingdescription.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ski embodying this invention. p

Figure 2 is a top plan view.

Figure 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view taken along line 4-4 of Figure 1.

The ski is formed of a wooden sheet of substantially uniform thicknessthroughout its length and of the conformation desired, being curvedupwardly adjacent the tip of the ski. The sheet 10 is sandwiched betweenfiberglass sheets 12 and 14 which cover lthe upper and lower surfaces ofsheet 10. The ibreglass sheets 12 and 14 are bonded to wooden sheet 10and are impregnated with suitable resin such as urea, resorcinol orapoxy and are applied under tension so that when the ski is iexed itwill return to its original condition.

Positioned above the central section of the ski is an island formed of atapered wooden sheet 16 bonded to fiberglass sheet 14 and covered by anadditional resin impregnated fiberglass sheet 18 which covers the entireupper surface of the ski. The wooden sheet 16 includes a forwardlyextending portion and a rearwardly extending portion, joined by a smootharcuate portion, the forwardly extending portion being considerablyshorter than the rearwardly extending portion. This provides a properlybalanced ski having the desired characteristics of flexibility. Sheet 14conforms to the island sheet 16 and lies between same and sheet 10. Theisland forms a support for the ski binding 20, having the usualstationary front or toe receiving section 22 and the movable rear orheel engaging member 24 and an additional loop 26 and roughened surface28 for one-ski skiing.

In this embodiment the wooden sheet 16 tapers for- Eil@ wardly andrearwardly in thickness and occupies approximately the central one-third0f the ski. The 'thickness and length of the island can be varied tomeet the ilexibility requirements of the ski and function to hold thecentral section of the ski rigid while permitting flexing of the tips toeliminate center drag. The thickness and taper of the island will varyaccording to the requirements of the ski. Thus a ski constructed tosupport a man weighing two hundred pounds, for example, may be formedwith sheet 10 one-fourth inch thick and island 16 tive-eigh-ths inchthick maximum. The island then tapers forwardly and rearwardly until itjoins sheet 1), the length of the taper and its rate will vary withultimate ilexibilty requirements of the ski. The thickness relationshipbetween sheet 10 and island 16 may vary somewhat, however, when thethickest part of island 16 is less than one-eighth inch thick its effectbecomes negligible.

A suitable iin 30 may be secured to the underside of the ski adjacentthe rear to permit control during use.

While what hereinbefore has been described as the preferred embodimentof this invention, it is readily ap parent that alterations andmodifications can be resorted to without `departing from the scope ofthis invention and such alterations and modifications are intended to beincluded Within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A water ski comprising a wooden sheet of substantially uniformthickness throughout its length, a resin impregnated fiberglass sheetbonded to the under surface of said wooden sheet, a second wooden sheetoccupying approximately the middle one-third of the ski and havingportions tapered towards each tip of the ski, a second resin impregnatedfiberglass sheet bonded to the under surface of the second wooden sheetand the adjacent upper surface of the first wooden sheet forming anisland adjacent the central section of the ski, and a further resinimpregnated fiberglass sheet covering the remaining upper surface ofsaid lirst wooden sheet and the upper Surface of said second Woodensheet.

2. A water ski comprising a wooden sheet of substantially uniformthickness .throughout its length, a resin impregnated fiberglass sheetbonded to the under surface of said wooden sheet, a second wooden sheetoccupying approximately the middle onethird of the ski and havingportions tapered towards each tip of the ski, the tapered forwardlyextending portion being considerably shorter than the tapered rearwardlyextending portion, the tapered front and rear portions being joined by asmooth arcuate portion, a second lresin impregnated berglass sheetbonded to the under surface of the second wooden sheet and totheadjacent upper surface of the rst wooden sheet forming an islandadjacent the central section of the ski, and a further resin impregnatedfiberglass sheet covering the remaining upper surface of said firstwooden sheet and the upper surface of the second wooden sheet, saidfirst and last mentioned fiberglass sheets being under tension to returnsaid ski to its original position upon exing of same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

